Setting Tone: For All Children. Always.

Hi, all. I want to share my post-election concerns as they pertain to our children. And to explicitly set the tone for my business in this post-election climate. This post is “political,” albeit measured. Some of you may not agree. Some of you may be tired of reading about post-election aggression and post-election opinions. Some of you may come to my blog posts and my other social media posts for an escape from this very type of discourse. But here we are. This is your heads up. If you came for light and fluffy this isn’t exactly it.

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As a concerned American and mom, I’m so disappointed to see the way hate and aggression is presenting in our children and schools post-election. I’ve been reading heart-breaking stories from all over the US in the weeks since. But came across a report this morning that has brought it all together with numbers.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has surveyed 10,000 educators across the US since the election. They found:

Over 25% of the surveyed teachers said they have seen specific acts of bigotry since the election–threats of violence, graffiti targeting minority groups, and property damage.

80% of the educators surveyed reported heightened anxiety levels from students who come from targeted groups–immigrants, Muslims, and students of color.

90% of educators surveyed said the election has had a negative, likely long-lasting, impact on their students.

These numbers are interesting to say the least. An equally compelling addition to these data, are some of the comments shared with the SPLC as part of this survey:

“Kids did a ‘mock’ election where they got to vote for president and two of 32 kids voted for Trump (this was all before the actual election). One of the students who voted for Trump expressed that he felt kids were judging him for his choice and the teacher defended his position and right to have his own vote. He then said to the class, ‘I just want him to win so he can get rid of all the Mexicans.’ He himself is an immigrant from Bosnia.”— ELEMENTARY TEACHER, COLORADO

“The day after the election, white students in my school walked down the halls harassing their students of color. One student went around asking, ‘Are you legal?’ to each student he passed. Another student told his black classmate to ‘Go back to Haiti because this is our country now.’” — MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENT TEACHER, MASSACHUSETTS

“’You voted for Trump. I hate you,’ said one third-grader to another.” —ELEMENTARY TEACHER, WASHINGTON

“Words that I have not heard in the past — racist, bigot, pussy, slut — are now used by my fourth-graders.” — ELEMENTARY TEACHER, MINNESOTA

“This is my 21st year of teaching. This is the first time I’ve had a student call another student the ‘n’ word. This incident occurred the day after a conference with the offender’s mother. During the conference, the mother made her support of Trump known and expressed her hope that ‘the blacks’ would soon ‘know their place again.’” — ELEMENTARY TEACHER, GEORGIA

The SPLC reports that over 1/2 of educators surveyed are hesitant to discuss the election in the classroom, because emotions are so high. And some reported principals discouraging discussing the election in the classroom.

How do we help our children and educators? The answer does not appear to be “wait and see if it dies down,” because it isn’t.

I think these are actions to take outside of school too. I have been particularly “encouraging courage” in my 4 year-old. Coincidentally, we borrowed Little Red by Bethan Woollvin from our library the Wednesday following the election. Little Red is a reimagining of the classic Little Red Riding Hood tale, featuring an unflappable Little Red. This book has helped us to talk about fear and courage, looking for clues that something isn’t quite right, and making plans.

[As a heads up, Little Red is a little bit dark for a picture book and I would have previously hesitated borrowing it given the nature of my oldest child. But I honestly didn’t look that closely at the book before checking it out and it now seems appropriate to make room for light and dark narrative, at least in this safe way.]

Taking advice from the SPLC, I want to set the tone for my business and social media spaces. Short and simple: We are here to support and encourage ALL children. Always. This stance of equity and inclusion is behind every piece I make and every post I post, regardless of whether it is explicit or not.